Attention all Realtors, Make sure the Utilties are on before the Appraisal....Thank you

Most lenders are requiring that the utilities are turned on BEFORE the home is appraised. This is for all loans, not just FHA.

Most buyers will have an inspection, so if that occurs before the appraisal, keep those utilities on unless there are issues with that occurring, i.e. water leaks, etc. If the appraiser calls you before the inspection has been completed, even with foreclosures, we need those utilities turned on. Again if this is not possible for some reason, then we will have to notify the lender and they will either have us wait until the utilities can be turned on safely and do the appraisal later OR we will have to come back to do a final inspection when they are turned on. But this causes delays and it costs more money to do an appraisal and a final inspection so many lenders want us to wait until the utilities are on!

Many times the water is turned off at the street. As appraisers, we are not too keen on turning that water on at the street, but if it is easy to turn on (some are quite difficult) and there will be no surprises turning on the water at the street, then let the appraiser know this. The appraiser may still want someone out there to turn on the water and to turn it back off so as to avoid any liability, so just be aware of this please. Just wanted you to know when you get that home under contract, you need to be aware that the appraisal will be following soon and the utilities need to be on. If the appraiser does NOT call you about the utilities then don't worry about it, it is their responsibility to contact the Realtor to make sure they are turned on. But if you have already turned them on for inspection or for any other reason, please leave them on until you know the appraisal has been completed.

Thanks guys for your cooperation on this! Just one more thing to add to your crazy list of things these days.